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Saturday, September 18, 2010

I promise I will not often review restaurants here on this food blog I will reserve this for my favorite places and will try to always share a recipe from the restaurant mentioned.
I love this little bakery they make incredible sandwiches! The Naborhood Bakery is a tradition among family and friends. We will go spend the day out shopping and walking around Gardener Village and will always make time for food from this cute little cottage.

I have never been served a tiny portion (even when ordering a half sandwich), it is always clean, the staff friendly and the food amazing! I have been eating at this restaurant for over ten years, closer to fifteen and I have loved every bite!
Ironically the recipe I am going to share for you I have never tried yet - when you find your favorites you tend to stick with them, but this is on my list.

1. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces; set aside.
2. For sauce, stir together rice wine, soy sauce, water, fish sauce (if using), cornstarch, and red pepper. Set aside.
3. Pour oil into a wok or large skillet. (If necessary, add more oil during cooking.) Heat over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic to wok; cook and stir for 15 seconds. Add carrot; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add pea pods and green onion; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes more or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove vegetables from wok.
4. Add half the chicken to hot wok. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from wok. Repeat with remaining chicken. Return all chicken to wok. Push chicken from center of wok. Stir sauce; add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return vegetables to wok. Stir in 1/3 cup peanuts. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve with rice. If desired, sprinkle with additional chopped peanuts.
Makes 4 servings.

directions

Set aside 1 seasoning packet from noodles to use in recipe; store remaining packet for another use. In a large saucepan bring 2 quarts water to boiling. Break up noodles slightly and add to water along with cut-up vegetables. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Drain and return to saucepan.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Fill the bottom of each pan with the desired amount of chocolate chips (I recommend not using the whole bag).

Cook at 350 for 8-10 minutes pull out and use a spatula to smooth the chocolate chips into a nice melted mush.

Add one half of the marshmallow cream to each half, don't worry about smoothing it out just plop it on top, put it back in the oven at 350 for another 5-8 minutes then smooth out the top with a spatula. Set aside for half an hour.

This can be served room temperature, refrigerated or frozen if you don't value your teeth to much.

For me this recipe was a fail, while it cooked great, the texture was great and the initial first taste was great, it was just far too sweet. Something this over the top sweet, is not yummy and ended up more in the gross category, than the this was a good idea but failed category.

Maybe someone else has done it better, or really likes the diabetic insulin crashing feeling so I am posting it.

Do you like really sugary treats? Have you tried a version of this that didn't make you want to puke?

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Ok this is a long story but when I was growing up my Mama was given a Wassil mix from our neighbor as a Christmas gift. We loved it so much that Mama asked for the recipe our neighbor then explained she had bought it from a co-worker who had since then quit.

After that both mama and our neighbor started trying out different recipes for this fabulous drink. Several years and many recipes later they both fell in love with this recipe.
Which is made using easy to get American ingredients (nice for me since this is very popular in Sweden, Russia ect) the first couple of recipes they tried had harder to get ingrediants.

When its almost done but not mixed it looks like this!

When its all mixed up it looks like this!

Then add around 2 tbls to a large cup of hot water.

Stir and enjoy!

Yummmmm!!!

Wassil or Russian Tea Recipe

Mix together in a large container

2 cups Tang

1 1/2 cups Sugar

3/4 cups Instant Tea

1 pkg Jello (any flavor) I prefer the new tropical fusion however orange or lemon work well too)

3 Tbls Lemonade drink mix

2 tsp Cinnamon (ground)

1 tsp Allspice (ground)

1 tsp Cloves (ground up - can use fresh just grind your self I personally have a an electric coffee grinder just for grinding spices!)

Make sure to have a tight lid, as this should last you a full winter, even if you share with a friend!

Cut up hot dogs into bite size pieces cook with peas. (This is a personal preference they can be cooked separately.)
After the water is warm remove one cup and add to rice along with 1 Tbls. butter. cook rice according to directions. Add more water to hot dogs and peas if needed. Bring to a boil then lower the heat so they will be done cooking at the same time as the rice.
Drain Hot dogs and Peas add to a large bowl with the remaining butter. Add in the rice, mix and serve. Adding salt and pepper to individual taste.

Also as we needed to cook this often when we were really on a shoestring budget, we added in other spices to change the flavor. Our favorites were Adobo, Seasonal, and Lemon Pepper.

I have to tell you this is an amazing tea! It has a rich yet smooth flavor that doesn't fade or loose its attractiveness as the cup cools.
Naturally caffeine free, this is a great diet help especially during the holidays! You know when your co-worker loads the large candy bowl with tempting treats that fill the air beckoning to you. Instead of giving in, make a cup of Tea!

This is another hidden gem that I picked up at IKEA. If you have an IKEA near you I would highly recommend you run there and by this!
Why?
1. Its full of amazing easy to cook healthy meals
2. Its only 3.00!
3. It's being phased out once your store is sold out - its gone!

I will be adding recipes from this book later on, they really are great and each recipe comes with a color photo - something I love!

This blog is mainly my virtual cookbook, in case of fire, flood or other damage this will be where I keep a stored record of my favorite dishes. Not to mention the odd, "Oh that looks really yummy!" Treasure that I find online and want to keep a copy of until they have been tried. I will then review and add into the Yes! or the No! Categories that will be made later.

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, turning frequently, until crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. (Alternatively, microwave on High for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.) Drain bacon on paper towels. Chop coarsely.
2. If using whole broccoli, trim about 3 inches off the stems. Chop the rest into 1/4-inch pieces.
3. Whisk yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add water chestnuts, onion, bacon and broccoli; toss to coat. Chill until serving time.

Divide cherries, mint leaves and sugar among 4 glasses. Mash everything together with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in lime juice. Fill glasses with ice and top with seltzer. Garnish with mint sprigs.